Political action committee contributions to congressional candidates

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A political action committee (PAC) is a political committee "organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates." According to the Center for Responsive Politics, "most PACs represent business, labor or ideological interests." The first PAC was formed by the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1944.[1]

The table below details political action committee contributions to congressional candidates from 1978 to 2014. All figures are rendered in millions of dollars (for example, $50.7 translates to $50,700,000).[2]

PAC contributions to congressional candidates, 1978-2014 (dollars in millions)
Year Type of PAC
Labor Corporate Trade, membership, health Non-connected Other
2014 $50.7 $178.1 $119.2 $76.0 $12.0
2012 $54.3 $172.3 $120.7 $79.5 $11.9
2010 $66.9 $166.9 $137.0 $58.2 $12.7
2008 $67.1 $157.9 $116.7 $70.2 $12.5
2006 $66.8 $150.8 $115.5 $83.3 $10.3
2004 $63.0 $130.7 $98.0 $62.4 $8.1
2002 $68.3 $120.5 $94.1 $58.7 $8.6
2000 $69.0 $115.8 $93.9 $48.9 $9.8
1998 $63.0 $103.3 $85.7 $39.4 $9.0
1996 $70.2 $105.2 $84.8 $33.2 $10.3
1994 $65.0 $102.4 $80.0 $27.6 $10.5
1992 $67.0 $108.5 $86.7 $29.5 $11.1
1990 $60.9 $96.9 $77.0 $25.9 $10.7
1988 $67.8 $100.9 $77.8 $38.4 $10.8
1986 $64.6 $99.8 $71.1 $40.6 $10.6
1984 $56.5 $80.9 $60.8 $33.0 $8.7
1982 $49.8 $67.5 $53.7 $26.2 $7.9
1980 $37.9 $55.2 $45.7 $14.1 $5.7
1978 $35.9 $34.5 $40.7 $9.1 $3.6
Source: Campaign Finance Institute, "PAC Contributions to Congressional Candidates, 1978-2014," accessed September 24, 2015

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